Tuesday, 4 February 2014

Long missions and stays on the International Space Station mean that variety and acceptability of food are important for astronauts. Following many years of freeze-dried powders, bite-sized cubes and semi-liquids in toothpaste tubes, a more diverse and interesting range of meals is now on offer. In order to make sure they will withstand the journey and maintain their freshness and taste, repeatable, quantifiable texture analysis is essential.

In conjunction with NASA, Stable Micro Systems’ instrumentation is now being used to advance space food technology. The Space Food Systems laboratory, located at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, has enlisted Stable Micro Systems’ expertise to ensure that astronauts are provided with food with optimal appearance, colour, odour, flavour, texture and overall palatability.